


A Name Is Your Identity

by DivineBlackDragon



Series: SI stands for Self-Indulgent: A Series of Self-Inserts [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: ANBU - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Soldiers, Confusing, Dark, Disassociation, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Intense, It cause some confusion, Itachi feels so much regret, Itachi is messed up, Itachi trying to make things better, It’s got Itachi in It you cant tell me you expected rainbows and unicorns, Kinda split personality, Mental Health Issues, Moral Ambiguity, Moral Dilemmas, Not complete fix-it, SI OC - Freeform, SIOC!Itachi was a kakashi fan in their first life, Self-Insert, Team Ro (ANBU), The Elemental Nations are not a nice place, Timeline is screwed up due to personal headcanons and ignoring canon, Uchiha Fugaku's A+ Parenting, Uchiha Massacre, Written in a format that allows you to understand insane reincarnated Not!Itachi, and frustration, thats why it’s confusing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-03-03 14:44:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13343406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivineBlackDragon/pseuds/DivineBlackDragon
Summary: Itachi was not always Itachi.It doesn't really matter in the end, though.(...But......Does it?)A very intense Self-Insert!Itachi fic





	1. ...And the Monster Is Created

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not!Itachi lives.

_There’s blood on the ground._

 

I was born Uchiha Itachi.

I wasn’t, though.

I was someone else.

Not anymore.

That name is gone, only shadows in maybe-memories.

 

Some say a name is your identity.

 

Not quite.

But close.

 

I am Uchiha Itachi.

A fictional book character.

Ha.

 

Early memories consisted of whispers.

_Too intelligent._

Whispers surround me.

I stare at them knowingly.

They are scared, frightened, and leave the room.

 _Too intelligent_.

 

Pain and cuts and callouses and knives.

A target.

The gaze of my father.

Nothing to live for but that.

 

_Nothing but a corpse. Blood under my shoes. Red. Reflection of the moon tinted red._

 

He approves.

Mother doesn’t.

The unhappiness is lingering in her eyes and the creases around her eyes.

 

_Gleam of metal, crimson mess. Warm accepting eyes. A light gone out._

 

Heart pounding. Sweat.

Burning but don’t stop try harder you should do better, Father’s eyes speak.

I don’t hate him.

Why don’t I hate him?

At least I don’t feel like a child.

It would have hurt worse, then.

More, better, faster, stronger, Never enough.

 

Why?

 

He takes me out.

Out to a place far away.

The village is not in sight.

There is a smell of iron.

I don’t want to go closer.

Father wants me to.

So I go anyway.

 

_So many. Just another number. One more. A statistic. Nothing. Nobody. Just blood and bones and matter. Red._

 

Red spins in my eyes.

Father smiles.

I don’t like it.

 

A thousand corpses, a field of death burned into my memories.

But were they ever my memories?

Maybe it is all a lie.

Life in a Tsukuyomi.

Maybe I'm insane.

 

_Dead dead dead and there is nothing –_

 

A tiny thing.

Wrinkled and helpless and full of tears.

Innocence in a world of horror and evil.

I understand now.

Understanding is cruel.

But it is truth.

Otouto is my life now.

 

It’s that or pain and emptiness and a single purpose for killing and death.

 

I don’t mind.

 

_Horror and anger and rage and hate and howcouldyounii-san?_

 

There is a heavy weight resting on my head.

A gleaming, new brand.

I pledge my allegiance.

This is my purpose.

The thing that holds my loyalty.

 

I hate it.

 

My team is wary. Confused. Or awed.

It is all the same to me.

 

_Stop please don't look at me like that I'm doing this for you otouto –_

 

I leave them as soon as I can.

I am handed a vest and of course it is only _expected_ –

 

_“We knew this would happen, son. I am only sorry I failed you.”_

 

Still I must do more.

More cuts more scars more death.

I become more.

I am nothing but my mask, the thing I hide behind.

I know what is happening, but I can do nothing–

 

_He is crying. Red looks back at me, a single tomoe in each eye. What have I done?_

 

I am a machine.

A tool. Like any shinobi.

Crimson stains my clothes, my feet, my arms, my hands, my hair, my eyes.

I cannot escape.

Red and Black eyes scream “Monster!” in the mirror.

 

_"Monster," he says, "Monster."_

 

There is a boy with curly hair.

Pretty.

He laughs as hard as he cries.

Father says Uchiha aren’t emotional.

Emotions only hurt and get in the way.

It’s true.

I don’t feel much anymore.

It hurts to feel, so I don't.

 

_Metal flashes and they fall to the ground. Blood is everywhere. I feel nothing. The moon is not red, though it should be, for this should only exist in a place with a red moon and black sky._

 

I see the boy often.

Shisui.

Water death.

I shouldn’t grow attached.

An image of a boy with eyes gouged falling to his death flashes in front of my eyes.

I smile at him anyway.

 

_“Take my eye. You can’t let him have it!”_

 

ANBU is dark. Silent. Insane.

Father is proud.

Mother is not.

My brother only wishes for their attention.

My family is breaking.

Or at least, the fractures are no longer able to be hidden, ignored and shoved into a dark corner.

I do nothing but try to avoid my own home.

 

_“You killed him!”_

 

There is red staining my hands, dripping steadily onto the ground, tainting everything I touch.

Some days, I cannot bring myself to touch my little brother, for fear of smearing warm, dark red over white childlike innocence.

Otouto does not seem to notice.

 

 _"Murderer!"_ **_Monster_**.

 

There is a man with bandages covering one eye and arm.

Shimura Danzo.

My ANBU captain, Dog–Kakashi, my mind whispers, and a spark of an old, foreign but disarmingly pleasant emotion rises before I can shove it down–says to avoid him.

 

Memory of a massacre, implanted red and black wheels and gouged out eyes–

 

I follow my captain's orders.

 

_"On the orders of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homaru, the Uchiha Clan is to be–"_

I am to spy on my clan.

I am to spy on my village.

A clan that I love, despite all they (he) have done to me?

Or the village that raised me and taught me (and trained me and pushed me just like my father with whispers and awe and fear)?

Mother and Sasuke and the other young Uchiha children?

Or Shisui and Kakashi and Ko and Aburame Yoji* and Uzuki Yugao and Tenzo and the future of the village?

 

I hold no loyalty to Father, nor the rest of the clan.

Nor do I hold loyalty to a rotting, idealistic village with child soldiers.

 

I am not Uchiha itachi.

 

But I am not them either.

I do as I am supposed to.

I give my report on the Uchiha's clan meetings to the Hokage the next day.

 

_I'msorryotoutoI'msorry "Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me–"_

 

Time runs faster.

I am ANBU. ANBU is me.

Even my captain begins to worry.

To have Hatake Kakashi worry over my mental health is amusing.

 

_WhathaveIdoneWhatamIdoing "–curse me, hate me! And survive your miserable life–"_

 

ANBU is hard.

I continue, with blood dripping from my hands and stains only climbing higher up my arms.

 

I am named Captain.

I am not ready.

My captain knows this too.

His grim stare warns me: _He wants you. He almost has you. And I can no longer protect you._

 _He_ approaches me the next day.

 

_"Run away, Run away...Cling to life." I'msorryI'msosorryIwasn'tstrongenoughtostopthisotouto–_

 

Danzo directs me, and I can do nothing.

Missions are nonsensical and darker.

Any mistake could mean war and my death.

I am trapped.

 

_I'msorryI'msorryIdon'tmeanitIloveyoulittlebrother–_

 

Whispers of rebellion.

Wary glances.

The Councilman is smiling.

Shisui is determined.

His eyes spin in fractured red and black.

There's a chance, he says, there's still a chance.

I warn him, but he ignores it.

 

Now they know. Now _he_ knows.

I stay by Shisui when I can, but it is not enough.

 

_"You'll take care of the rest?" "Of course." An orange mask stares back. A blank canvas. A robot. **Inhuman**. _

 

He cries bloody tears as he smiles.

I want to scream at him, rage.

You are supposed to be fake!

A drawing on paper, a figure on a screen!

Why do you cause me pain?

Why are you doing this to me?

But I can say nothing.

He claws out his other eye and holds the piece of him out.

I have seen worse things on a battlefield, but still I must force down bile.

He speaks, but I do not hear.

 

And he is falling and I am screaming and the world _fractures_.

 

 _"We must leave, before they come." There's a boy on the floor, chest barely rising. His eyes are closed_ _but at least he is not just a **corpse of flesh and blood**.A mask stares back at the monster. And the monster leaves. _

 

Accusing stares.

Whispers and rumors.

My clan comes for me.

You did it, they say, you did it.

 

And all I can feel is _rage_.

 

The world is still _f_ ra _c_ T **ur** e **D**.

 

 

Otouto is confused.

I calm him even as the future flashes before my eyes.

 

_The monster will be back. But for now, the monster disappears even as the sirens, the heralds of death, wail and scream._

 

They fall under my sword.

It is much too easy.

Why are they not fighting?

 

I want to cry.

 

Uchiha don't cry.

Shinobi don't cry.

But I...

A shinobi...

An Uchiha...

A Monster...

cry anyway.

 

Otouto...

 

_...I'm sorry._

_And the monster walks away._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally meant to be an angsty one-shot, but I decided against it, so there will be future chapters.  
> *The names you might not have heard before are actually Team Ro ANBU members' names from the manga. They aren't in the anime, though, as far as I've seen.


	2. ...And Maybe Things Will Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not!Itachi breaks.
> 
> Not!Itachi takes a different path, if only for a moment.

Red Dawn. 

A black sky crying tears of blood. 

 A new Allegiance.

 

It does not bother me.

 

My loyalty was never to Konoha.

Or the clan. 

The Red Dawn does not hold it either.

 

That honor lies with a little black haired boy that I  _failed._

It’s okay.

_No it’s fucking not._

I'm not— _yes you are—_ breaking.

  

I am draped in black and red. 

And a bitter and empty oath of loyalty stains my lips. 

 

Madara— _Obito,_  oh  _Obito,_ cries a voice that belonged to innocence—has disappeared.

He will be back.

  

In a swirly mask of orange.

 

A wide, too large smile wants to stretch across my face. The smile of monsters and insanity. 

I clutch onto a mask of blank white nothing like a drowning victim. 

Unfeeling. Not cold but empty. 

 

Emotion will  _T_ e **A** r Y _ **O** u_  _ **a** P_a **r** _t_.

  

 I am ~~ _not_~~ **fine** _._

I push down harder.

 

 

The first partner dies.

The first partner was a monster too.

A monster that was an almost- ~~friend~~ _companion._

 

Then there is blue.

I do not like fish.

I do like sharks, though.

The shark knew my last partner.

 

Kisame is— _considerate, too nice, especially for a shinobi, a Kiri nukenin_ _even, and he’s going to diediedie_ killed _byOtouto’shand—_ my new partner.

 

A smile too sharp, eyes too round, slits where there should not— _he's so amazing, squeals the voice of a naive child that doesn't_ **existanymore—** makes him seem less than human, but really, we are  _all monsters_  here.

 

There are missions and dull, empty routines and a snake-like monster that attacks and I know  _he will target Sasuke next_ but I still cannot kill him before he escapes.

I am watched by Madara's allies for the next week. I show no signs of becoming a— _TRAITOR how could younii-san?—_ deserterand Madara's allies are satisfied of my loyalty.

 

I still want to hunt. 

 

To track down the slippery, disgusting monster of a  _snake_  for even _daring_  to  _think_ about _targeting **my brother**._

Hypocrite, a voice hisses.

  

And then there are more routines, more missions and justtryingnotto _think—_

And I am eighteen. _(I am eighteen plus seventeen.)_  

 

 It was a sudden realization, only noticed when there are rumors of the devastating attack on Konoha by Suna and Oto, and the death of the Hokage is carried through whispers. 

 

I am eighteen. 

 _(—not seventeen. Not **seventeen**_. _I have survived longer in a world of death than a world of life.)_

 

Sasuke has been bitten.  _Taken. Claimed. Controlled. A servant to a **disgusting, vile—**_

Well.

 

Only a few more years until my death.

 

Two, if I am lucky.

 

Kisame senses something off. Nothing is said, but the next day I find a plate of dango next to my travel pack.

There is a certain amount of camaraderie between two slightly-too-obvious monsters in a world where it is more accepted to hide it. 

 

Then there are the orders, and I am once more in Fire Country.

Konoha  _hurts._

_Not your home._ _This is an army._ _An army of militants. Of brainwashed soldiers and willfully blind civilians._

_A village of **shinobi.**_

_But_ , cries my mind.  _But—_

 

Evidently, I was not as immune to the propaganda and indoctrination as I thought.

Konoha is green.

 Konoha is hidden shadows.

 Konoha is blood and masks and death and orders and—

 Konoha is death wearing the mask of  _humanity_. 

_There is hate. So much reviled loathing. Konoha. In that moment, I wish for it to burn._

Two jounin, Asuma and Kurenai— _Murai_ , cries Innocence, the voice that  _will not die—_ confront me and Kisame.

It  _hurts._  

The things I had used to hide, to shield myself in the first world, empathized with and cared for, are now  _alive in this world and I will help cause their death._

 

Then there is Dog-taicho, the one that protected me from  _him, that vowed to NEVER LET ME DIE simply because I was on his team—_

 

—and it'shurtinghurtinghurting—

—whywon'tyoustopyoudon'tneedtodothis—

—You'rehurtingDog-taichoandifyoudon'tstopyou'llhurtSakuraNarutoSASUKEnext—

 

—And there is a  _crack._

_Something breaks._

_Something shatters._

_And suddenly, the future means nothing._

 

In another world, Dog-taicho was the Innocence's favorite.

_(And Itachi.)_

 

In this world, my little Otouto, the first innocent and pure thing I had seen in this world is my favorite.

Shisui used to be just after Otouto.

Mostly because he _smiled_ and said everything  _was fine—_

 

I had obeyed the rules.

I had followed the script.

 

The pictures.

 

Because I was ~~too scared~~ _too weak_  to change it.

 

I refused. No longer. No.

I am selfish.

To sacrifice the peace of the future.

 

(The script hurts too much.)

  

The Itachi from the script was selfish too.

He made Sasuke continue living in a world his older brother destroyed.

 

 

In the script, Dog-taicho was tortured.

 

In my world, he is trapped in a forced sleep.

 

 

 

That is the first change.

 

 

 

The second change comes soon after.

There is a boy with blond blond hair, three little whisker marks, and a smile too too wide.

And then there is Sasuke.

 

 _SasukeSasukeSasukeI'msorrySasukeSasukeOtoutoLittlebrother_ -

 

And the monster begins his  _torture._

The continuous replay of a messy, painful death that hides the truth plays through little brother's mind and—

I decide.

 

No.  _No._

 

The images stop. 

I am standing in a still picture of an empty clan compound.

The Uchiwa is on the walls.

Otouto is collapsed on the ground.

Otouto's mind is an empty place.

 

I am only glad it is not mine. 

 

_I'm sorry. I was too weak. I'll do better._

 

"Little brother."

 

Sasuke tenses, but does not look at me. 

It is to be expected. 

 

_(It hurts.)_

 

"You are not strong in what matters."

 

What do I say? This will change everything and if the world is destroyed _it will be my fault—_

 

"He will take you. Harvest you. You are not strong enough to survive."

 

Otouto's brows are furrowed, and his hands are tightly gripping the ground.

 

"As my methods to ensure your drive are evidently not succeeding, I will speak to you as directly as possible."

 

The child seems to want to say something, but I do not let him speak.

 

"The Uchiha have many secrets. Find them. Or your life will end, with the eyes taken and the corrupted victorious.

"Be wary of all,  _little brother_. There are shadows hunting you. Watch for them, for they are watching you. 

 

"When you have done this, perhaps you will survive long enough for your strength to measure mine."

_There. He will have questions._

_"_ Your violent and reckless temper will not help you. Nor will your incessive narrow-mindness. Foolish Otouto. You will die if you do not learn the ways of this world.”

 

I pause.

I have now, quite possibly, changed everything. 

 

"Goodbye, Otouto."

 

 

 

That is the second change.

Now to wait.

  

I will continue on as I always have.

Things may change.

They may not.

Possibly for the worse.

Possibly for the better.

 

But until then, I will continue to travel on a predetermined path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Not!Itachi's past fondness of the characters caused them to decide to change things. After all, it was books, manga, and anime that past life Not!Itachi used to hide from the first world.
> 
> Now you might be wondering why Not!Itachi did not decide to change things earlier. Well, one, it would throw off the theme here, two, Not!Itachi was still kinda numb and thinking of everything as inevitable but in the far away future, and so didn't really try anything, three, Not!Itachi was not that emotionally attached to his new family/clan all that much mostly because of their treatment of him. Yes, he was more attached to idolized former book characters than his new mother. This is because he didn’ exactly have a close relationship with his mother, and keep in mind Not!Itachi is not one of the sanest people around. Also, fourth, because I wanted to. 
> 
> Finally: you may have noticed I refer to Not!Itachi using the/their/them etc. Um...To tell the truth, I think of Not!Itachi as being to confused and messed up due to extra memories to really worry about their gender and gender identity and all that and I kind of think of Not!Itachi as having two souls awkwardly stitched together in one body. Was past not!Itachi female? Maybe. I'll leave that to you to decide. Itachi's non-binaryness may be elaborated on in the last chapter. Not sure.


	3. ...And the Path Twists and Turns (The Consequence of Choices)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke or the Fate of this world. Not!Itachi made that choice, a choice with severe consequences. Whether Not!Itachi will regret it or not, remains to be seen. 
> 
>  
> 
> (Or: Not!Itachi waits, panics, and promptly makes a valiant attempt at damage control. In that order.)

 

The years are long.

Days are longer. 

Hours pass by s l  o   w     l       y.

Minutes seep by like tar.

The clock is frozen.

I see no difference in this world.

So I tread the same path.

I follow the same road.

And o n e b y o n e b y o n e 

Life crawls on by.

Everything stays the same.

A mundane and pointless routine of killing and fighting and mission objectives.

Voices and thoughts fade out, and there is only the tool, the machine that lives for one purpose.

  

 

Then there is something.

A pebble tumbling down a mountain.

The prelude of a rockslide.

Ripples turning into waterfalls.

It starts years after. 

 

 

Otouto still goes to Orochimaru. 

I had wrongly assumed that nothing had changed. 

But there were changes. 

I was just not there to see them.

 

 

At times I wonder why I persisted in living. 

Did I not have the courage to end it myself?

What was the point in staying here and only further traumatizing my little brother?

  

Then there was the sickness.

  

I cough.

My chest constricts.

The world closes in on me, drowning me with air. 

Vision failing, world spinning, I try to breathe.

  

That was the first incident.

 

And sometimes I cough. 

And cough.

And struggle to breathe.

  

...And one day there is blood.

 

I am unable to hide it from Kisame.

He does nothing but suggest a visit to a medic not against treating missing-nin.

 

I refuse.

 

Maybe I would die this way. 

 

Either the sickness, Sasuke, Konoha, or the Akatsuki would take me in the end.

 

 

Not myself.

 

 

Never myself.

 

 

I know better... 

 

 

...From the first life.

 

  

 

Orochimaru's death is passed along in rumors and eventually confirmed by the Akatsuki. He is dead.

His chakra was absorbed into Sasuke, was it not?

 

No.

It was not.

 

Sasuke had changed one little thing...

What was different?

 

Team Taka has been formed.

The news of Deidara's death is reported. 

Innocence had liked Deidara too, in the last life. 

Innocence had never liked Sasuke, and yet... 

 

Kisame and I travel.

But only when I am able.

When I am not, we stay away from any places there might be a trail.

There still seems to be no difference.

I begin to look forward to the fated day.

 

Until...

 

News of Sasuke and two of his companions were seen escaping the Village of the Hidden Leaves.

 

What?

 

Then I realize:

 

Danzo. 

 

A sort of panic and slowly deepening dread begins to fill me.

 

The deal, of course, was that Danzo was not to touch my brother unless he directly attacked the Leaf.

Danzo would likely not care for any sort of agreement if Otouto was openly antagonizing the Councilman.

 

Sasuke was looking for answers.

 

He was also inadvertently searching for his death.

 

Why had I tried to change anything?

Otouto, the first innocent thing I had seen in this world, was once again in danger because of my own actions.

It seemed I must continue to survive, if only to ensure Danzo's continued neutrality towards Sasuke. 

I could confront Danzo, but that was likely to only end in death and revenge. If I did not win the fight against the man that defeated Uchiha Shisui, then Danzo would be free to pursue my brother with no obstacles except Otouto's own fighting abilities.

 

There was no winning here.

For a moment, I allow myself to regret, and pinwheel eyes gaze at the sky.

Well. Nothing to be done but move forward. The past is already done and gone.

 

(So why must it constantly hover in the back of every thought and action of mine?)

 

 There were three courses of action I could take.

The first is that I could openly confront Danzo.

The second would be to ignore him entirely.

The third would be to warn Sasuke away from him.

 

The third option would not work.

The first was risky.

The second was not be possible for me to accomplish, and also heightened the chance that he would target Otouto.

 

 Maybe...

Maybe I could intimidate him, instead.

Make him weaker.

 

I knew his secrets, after all.

 

 

Kisame does not object to my reckless decision to return  ~~home~~ to Konoha.

We depart with the night falling away behind us and the sun rising ahead. Maybe, I think, it is a sign.

 

If I was to defeat Danzo in direct combat, I would need to a med-nin to heal me. A rogue one, at that. I do not believe that to be possible to accomplish. Med-nin rarely, if ever, abandoned their villages, and if they did, they were either truly horrible beings or specifically targeted by hunter-nin or other missing-nin in need of a medic. Senju Tsunade was the only exception, to my knowledge.

 

So I will wait, I decide. I will destroy him in the very shadows he lurked in. For when one hides in shadows, they may not be seen, but they also cannot see others.

 

Kisame elects to stay in a town on the outskirts of the Land of Fire while I complete my self-imposed mission.

I leave my Akatsuki cloak with him.

 

 

I flit through the shadows and trees at a pace that will allow me to reach the Hidden Village in days. I have one close call when a sensor and her ANBU team passes by and seems to sense my presence, despite my attempt to keep my chakra flow suppressed. However, after a pause, she signals her companions to continue, and I know I am safe.

I do not enter Konohagakure directly or immediately. Instead, I make camp in a large Hashirama tree about ten miles out from the village. I sleep lightly, with kunai and shuriken in easy reach, just in case my camp is discovered. Luckily, it is not, and I am able to get a full night's rest.

 

The next morning I am ready and rested well enough to accomplish my self-imposed mission.

 

For the next few hours I observe the patrol schedule and gate guards. A sensor is always within range of one of the walls of Konoha, so I cannot use chakra to sneak in. Guard patrols are seemingly erratic, though there is always a pattern and an opening if one looks carefully enough, as I was taught in ANBU.

It is past noon when I am finally ready to sneak in. Normally, I would wait at least another day to be sure I had not miscalculated or missed an important piece of information, but I do not believe I have enough time to be so cautious.

Slipping by the guards and patrols is pathetically easy. I wonder at the village's inadequate defenses even as I am almost glad that Sasuke left such an unsafe village.

The ROOT base is in the Hokage Monument, deeper in than the ANBU base. I navigate the village using a makeshift civilian disguise that I had acquired in a small town not far from Konoha under the henge technique. 

 I safely make it into the ANBU base, and before long I am entering the ROOT base stationed underneath it, disguised as a member of ROOT. For once I am thankful that ROOT uniforms are so impersonal--I do not need to worry if another ROOT member does not recognize me.

The file room is my first stop. I am sure the most important files are not here, but in Danzo's personal quarters, but despite the fact that I am lacking the most confidential and damning information I have enough to work with here.

I take all the storage scrolls currently on my person out of the various pouches and pockets, and then proceed to seal as many files and reports as I can.

While I am here, I also search for my own reports. More specifically, the report on the Uchiha Massacre. Luck is not on my side, however, and despite my efforts I am not able to find that report.

 

Most likely, I think grimly, it is within Danzo's office.

 

I have only been in that office three times before, and each time regarding missions of...dubious morality, if not outright damning.

 

Those visits mean that I have seen the file cabinets, lining the back wall of the office, with the blood red swirls and patterns of seals carved and painted into the wood.

 

I cannot access Danzo's personal chambers and office. Shimura Danzo, the former student of the Nidaime, knows at least some sort of sealing.

I do not.

Sealing being such a difficult and esoteric art, few know enough about it to counter it.

 

However, there is still the matter of finding enough evidence to incriminate Danzo enough that the Fifth Hokage will be able to justify interrogating, if not executing, the Councilman and ridding the world of his disgusting presence.

 

Tsunade undoubtedly at least had suspicions that ROOT was still active; however, suspicions were not incriminating.

 

The files I do have will prove that ROOT is active, if given to Tsunade. However, knowing Danzo, the secret but ultimately nothing too implicating reports of ROOT members will not be enough to ruin the Councilman. Danzo undoubtedly has some sort of back-up plan in the case that his secret organization is exposed, an explanation that will cause any and all accusations to fall flat.

Which is why I need the files in Danzo's office. Files of missions like the Uchiha Massacre, the alliance with Hanzo and antagonizing Suna in the Second and Third Shinobi World War, enabling Orochimaru's experiments, or deliberate sabatoge of almost all potential Hokage Candidates.

 

 

Wait.

 

There is likely a way into the office without needing to bypass the seals.

Danzo, when he discovers the files in the ROOT base missing, and being the paranoid retired shinobi that he is, will undoubtedly check to see if the other files are still secure. Because a seal’s only function is to contain, whether it be secrets or blood or chakra, he will need to fully deactivate the seals and bypass whatever security measures he has put in place in order to access the scrolls.

 

And I will be there when he does.

 

 

 

My course of action decided, I fit the last few mission reports into various pockets on my person, and turn to leave.

 

 

 

There is a shinobi with a plain animal mask in the doorway.

 

Their chakra spikes. A warning, a signal.

 

And then the shinobi is on the floor, blood spurting from the deep cut in their neck, splashing morbid patterns over my own uniform, floor, and wall. The shinobi is clutching their throat, coughing and sputtering from the blood clogging their throat.

 

I glance at my kunai, blood dripping down the sides of the blade.

There is an unnervingly flat and grayed-out quality to the picture.

 ~~There is no familiar cry from the voice of Innocence~~.

 

 

I turn my gaze back to the ROOT shinobi.

 

The shinobi was no longer moving, and had evidentially fallen unconscious from lack of air and blood. Their heart would stop beating soon.

I had not meant to miss the main artery, but the shinobi had surprised me.

 

 

...That was still no excuse for causing unnecessary pain, I think, ~~though it should not be me that thinks so, but Innocence~~. I must continue to hone my aim further in the future, so that an event like this does not happen again.

 

 

This, of course, brings me to another concern.

 

I had not sensed anyone approach.

 

If one could hide from my senses, so could another, and if another hidden shinobi recognized me and reported my presence to Danzo, my careful plan would shatter, with the glass shards of my attempt drawing blood and pain.

 

Carefully, I scan the room. There is no other chakra or presence lingering on the edges of my senses.

However, multiple chakra sources are flaring in a pattern.

 

My eyes widen.

 

 

_The chakra spike._

 

 

I take out another kunai.

 ~~The voice of Innocence is still quiet~~.

 

 

 

The solution is simple.

 

Danzo’s forces must be put down.

 

They can not impede my plan.

 

They will not hurt my Otouto by upsetting my plan and obeying the whims of _Shimura_.

 

 

 

 

...Well, it will not the first time I have massacred shinobi for the sake of my little brother and the peace of the world _._

 

 

 

 

 

_(What do faceless puppets matter in the great scheme of things, anyway?)_

 

 

_(The arrogance of the Uchiha is great._

_The power of the Sharingan is the power of the gods._

_For it be placed in the hands of misguided mortals is folly.)_

 

 

 

 

Today, I am others’ Judgement.

 

 

And the ruling is against them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 _Innocence_ _is_ _silent_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um...okay guys so this fic got longer than planned.
> 
> I hope I finish this thing soon. O.o
> 
> All of Not!Itachi’s behavior is For A Reason. The Reasons being that they have been not only conditioned to feel bad when they kill or hurt someone, but also to go against those original beliefs and to find murder as necessary and somewhat mundane. This causes a sort of...dichotomy in Not!Itachi’s mind. Again, Not!Itachi still struggles with dissassociation, along with a fanatical desire to not hurt others, while at the same time easily being able to kill them. I figured that with their intense fascination with peace, they were likely someone that would detest causing pain more than the actual act of killing. It is also my theory that when one is given great power over others, whether it be being able to kill another easily or being able to control others, those with that sort of power have to be careful not to play “God.”


End file.
